I've been trying this a lot lately, and I still have problems because I fall asleep way too quickly. I get up and will be wide awake, but the moment I start the technique I fall asleep within the first few seconds. What can I do to fix this?

Are you doing WBTB?

Yes, I do WBTB every night 4-6 hours after I go to sleep. I get up and walk around a bit and then go back to sleep. But I'm a very deep sleeper and can fall asleep in a matter of seconds.

Hmmm, aside from staying awake a bit longer, I think you might need to add more determination into your routines. First, tell yourself you really need to get this to work, then do the modified routines:

1. Observe the darkness behind your closed eyelids with the "intention" to pick up colors, lights, images, or simply areas that's not so dark. If you fail to find anything, don't strain your eye muscle. Next cycle will lead you deeper into the state.

2. Listen to the noise in your head and try to increase its volume.

3. Try to wiggle your fingers and toes without using any muscles.

The normal routines require you to observe the sensations passively, but in your case we need to use a bit more aggression.

Just for the record, I've had an easier time with WBTB using SILD. 2 LD's now in as many weeks, which is improvement from my dry spell. When I didn't use SILD last night I had zero recall. Again, it's that little bit of awareness that I think really helps. Cheers

I agree. I've only been able to remember SILD when I wake up and MILD back to sleep... and I've been falling asleep quickly so I don't even get to the hearing part but it still seems to help bring some more awareness into the dream. I should remember to do at least one or two full cycles on my back, where it's more unlikely I'll just fall asleep.

Yes, it is quite different.I practised as taught by Mr Raduga and also achieved good results .Once I had a LD and on other occasion I tried concentrating on the noise and then I reached a point where the sound turned like that of a roaring jet.The main problem was waking in between night without opening your eyes and not moving at all.Mr Raduga suggests that to do this technique perfectly you shouldn't move at all not even your eyes.I generally wake up with an alarm and I have to move a bit to shut it off. I don't have an alarm that shuts off automatically and I'm too lazy to buy one now LOL.In-spite of achieving good results I found it very difficult to do this technique with all the prerequisites. Although Mr Raduga says that you can still do this technique if you move but the results weren't that great when you move too much.

The way you describe your version of the technique it doesn't require you to stay still as soon as you wake up and from the results people are getting I'm looking forward to this technique with great expectations and I thank you for introducing it here.I understood your technique but I would appreciate if you give an algorithm of actions someone who practices should use.What I mean is step by step instructions after waking in middle of night.

The way you describe your version of the technique it doesn't require you to stay still as soon as you wake up and from the results people are getting I'm looking forward to this technique with great expectations and I thank you for introducing it here.I understood your technique but I would appreciate if you give an algorithm of actions someone who practices should use.What I mean is step by step instructions after waking in middle of night.

Dear Dreamcatcher,

The SILD method was initially based on my own customized WILD routine, which given years of practice has enabled me to WILD at will. It was almost identical to Michael's technique plus a few extras. In the beginning we simply wanted to create a streamlined version of this WILD routine, but several revisions later we came to a very important realization -- it simply works better if we DON'T treat it as a WILD technique!

Before I get ahead of myself, lets look at Michael's method first. You were correct that the hardest part of that method is remembering to stay completely still upon awakening. In fact, if you finally manage to do this you hardly need any technique at all. Another problem is the method being very demanding on the proper mind/body condition at the time of the execution. Given the right condition, it is not impossible to have a successful WILD within minutes, even seconds! However, when the condition is not perfect, for example, when you are rather wide awake, the method will unlikely do you any good. You can try wiggle your fingers without using muscle but that will feel genuinely fake. You then move on to stare behind your eyelids but you will see nothing but blackness. You then try squeezing your brain but that simply feel weird... Let's face it, how are you supposed to squeeze your brain? Of course, all of these become very easy and real when you are in the phase or are on the edge of a phase, but the exercise itself is not really designed to move you toward the phase. In fact, the amount of concentration demanded by the exercise will often leave you wide awake!

Now let's look at SILD. Like Michael's technique, if you use SILD when you are in the proper mind/body condition, the cycling procedures will very likely result in rapid entry into the phase. However, since it is not a WILD technique, we don't care so much about producing immediate effect! Being able to WILD is a bonus, not a must. Thus, we do the cycling routines regardless of whether they cause any sensations to occur. Here we see a fundamental difference between the two methods -- where Michael's method requires focus, SILD requires un-focus. With SILD it is fair to say that the only thing you should focus on is how to quickly lose focus. You want to cycle through the senses in the laziest manner. You want to lose count. You want to forget where you are. You want to drag this on and on... Essentially you just want to fall asleep so much you give up on doing the exercise, which is perfect.

SILD then works its magic after you fall asleep. You may suddenly wake up again, due to the motion caused by the cycling, and instead of awakening into reality you end up going into a phase because SILD has already prepared your mind and body into the proper condition. If you combine SILD with WBTB, then your chance of becoming aware within your dreams is greatly increased because the routine somehow is pretty good at messaging that little bit of awareness into your dreams, as noticed by Rhwin.

As for your question, I suggest that upon waking up at night, you can immediately do a few rounds of SILD. This may lead you into a phase, but as I said you should not expect it. Better treat it as warmups. After 5 or 6 hours of sleep you will want to get up, stay awake for 5 to 10 minutes then go back to bed to do SILD. You may want to do a few extra cycles if you don't immediately feel sleepy. Remember, if you find yourself becoming more awake after doing SILD then you are apparently doing it incorrectly!

The itch is also very likely an illusion. This may happen if you stay completely still. Your body uses this as a probe to see if you are truly asleep. There is a technique on DV that takes advantage of this, but it is extremely hard. The probing becomes so intense that most people just give up.

Oh so that's what that crazy itch is about. Thanks for clearing that up!

I'd be interested to see that technique. Could you post the name or a link? Thanks for the great posts!

The itch is also very likely an illusion. This may happen if you stay completely still. Your body uses this as a probe to see if you are truly asleep. There is a technique on DV that takes advantage of this, but it is extremely hard. The probing becomes so intense that most people just give up.

Oh so that's what that crazy itch is about. Thanks for clearing that up!

I'd be interested to see that technique. Could you post the name or a link? Thanks for the great posts!

I can't find that article on DV anymore... It is very simple anyway. Just stay absolutely still and in 20 minutes or so the probing sensation will occur. Do not move during the probe then after it passes you enter into the dream consciously. this is simple but hard to accomplish. People often run into swallowing issues... But when it does work it is very exciting!

Hollddupp...
I want to try SILD, but will I hallucinate like WILD? Like, do I go into SP? Don't I just fall back asleep with SILD? I'm so confused. I hope it's not like WILD with hallucinations

It depends. Normally there will be no hallucinations -- just finish the cycles and go back to sleep, and expect phase entrance or DILD to occur later. However, if you work on each of the 3 steps aggressively, and given the right mind/body condition, it is still possible to experience many strange sensations including viberations, HIs, ringing noises, etc. My suggestion is that you should learn to deal with these, as they will be common in your journey of lucid dreaming. Learn to enjoy them -- they are fantastic experiences! Below is an unique experience recorded by one of the SSILD users on another forum:

I just finished a Phase session where I used your cycling technique. In about 5 minutes I felt my physical focus waning. Then the strangest thing happened. I was was doing step 3 (which is to notice any strange body sensations) and all of a sudden I had a full vision of my body. It was dark in the area and I was kind of like outlined in white energy. Then something that looked like a "pac-man" head started to gobble my toes and work it's way up my leg, it did the same to the other leg and kept going higher. Piece by piece my physical body was being devoured. There was no pain or gore, since my body was just an outline. The sensation was incredible, the next thing I know my entire body is gone and I am in a land with the most vivid scenery and colors I have been too yet. The sensations of watching my body disappearing and then leaving me as just "total 100% conscious energy" was the most exhilarating I have ever had. The mental picture of this really drove that point home.